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Conflict in Syria

Lavrov comments on disengagement of opposition and militants in Idlib

The process of disengaging the opposition and the Jabhat al-Nusra fighters in Idlib must be carried out with minimal risks for the civilian population, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said

© Anton Novoderezhkin/TASS

MOSCOW, August 24. /TASS/. The process of disengaging the opposition and the Jabhat al-Nusra (terrorist organization outlawed in Russia) fighters in Idlib must be carried out with minimal risks for the civilian population. Russian and Turkish presidents will discuss this issue, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated on Friday on the results of the negotiations with his Turkish colleague Mevlut Cavusoglu.

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Washington stands in the way of fight against terrorists in Idlib, says Russian diplomat

"We have to do everything for the disengagement to take place, to minimize any risks for civilians," the minister noted. "I am sure that the presidents will discuss this issue in detail."

According to Lavrov, "the situation in Idlib is multilayered and difficult." "When the de-escalation zone was created in Idlib, no one offered to exploit this zone so that the Jabhat al-Nusra could use the civilian population as a human shield," the Russian foreign minister reminded.

"They [the fighters] do not just sit there, they conduct raids, attack the positions of the Syrian army, they sent about 50 drones from this zone to attack the Russian base in Khmeimim," Lavrov noted. "We have talked about this today in great detail.".

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Foreign policy Syrian conflict

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